The HumanElite
by Dunedain ranger of the north
Summary: Private Henry Thompson, has been captured by the Covenant, but for some reason he is still alive. After he under goes a change in his life, he meets two Elite children and it is up to him to take care of them as long as he lives. Rated T for language!
1. Chapter 1

The Human/Elite: chapter 1

A New Family

I do not own Halo or any of the characters, I just own all the Oc's that I put into this story.

Sergeant Henry Thompson was kicked awake, he slowly opened his eyes and stared up at the Brute that stood over him. The Brute grinned evilly at him as he bent over and grabbed his arm, dragging him from his cell. Henry dragged his feet, forcing the big alien to yank him forward.

"Keep moving, Human!" it growled at him.

"Up yours," said Henry and then he found himself gasping for breath as he was pinned to the wall.

The Brute growled and shoved a plasma pistol into his chin.

"One pull of this trigger and I will end you miserable life, now get moving, scum," spat out the Brute as he threw the marine to the ground.

As Henry struggled to get to his feet, the Brute kicked him back down and Henry stumbled three feet forward before falling down again. The Brute continued to knock him to the floor of the walkway, until a deep voice shouted.

"Montigi! That is enough!" shouted an Elite wearing silver armor.

The Brute frowned at the Elite as it stared back.

"It doesn't deserve what the prophets have sentenced it! It deserves to die!" said Montigi.

Hitili clicked his mandibles angrily and picked Henry up and placed him on his feet. The Elite then glared at the Brute.

"You know we aren't supposed to harm the Human's body in any form, that was an order from the prophets! He needs to be whole for the procedure," growled the Elite.

Montigi just grumbled to himself as he walked beside the marine who was their prisoner. They arrived at a door and Hitili tapped the holopanel beside it and it slid open. Montigi shoved Henry into the room and he shut the door behind them. Henry groaned as he raised his head and began to look around the room. They were in a type of lab and a few Elites wearing white robes were examining holoscreens. Henry was then yanked up to his feet.

"Get up, Human!" snarled Montigi.

One of the other Elites walked up and stood in front of Henry, glaring at him.

"You are lucky, human that the prophets have decided to spare your life," said the Elite.

Henry glared at the aliens that surrounded him and he crossed his arms.

"Try saying that to all of my murdered friends and fellow marines you bastard!" shouted the marine.

Montigi growled and shoved Henry to the ground again. A few of the Elites and some of the grunts, that were also in the room, laughed. Hitili stepped over Henry and growled at the Brute.

"Enough! Leave Montigi, now!"

The Brute snarled pushed open the door and stormed out. Hitili turned back to the Elite and nodded for him to continue. The Elite stepped aside, allowing Henry to view the machine that was behind him. It was a metal ring that was six foot in diameter, it had four clamps, two on the top and two on the bottom. Connected to it was a holopanel as well as some mechanical arms that held different types of needles. Henry's face went white in fear.

"This is what the prophets have invented. This machine has the power to transform one subject into another species, this is what they have in mind for you," said the Elite.

Henry started to step back shaking his head, when a pair of strong arms grabbed his shoulders. He looked up into the face of another Brute, this one with a sneer on its face.

"You should be proud, human, you get to become one of the higher species," said the Brute.

It then picked Henry up and carried him over to the machine, Henry kicking and screaming the whole way. The Elite tapped the holopanel and the clamps opened.

"Place his arms and legs inside the clamps!" shouted the Elite.

Even though he struggled to get free the Brute eventually got him clamped to the machine. The Brute stepped back and let the Elite stand in front of the shaking human.

"It is time to begin your body's journey into becoming one of us, do you have anything to say to this, human?" it asked him with amusement in its voice.

Henry glared at him and nodded.

"Yah I got something to say to that, squidface!" he then struggled to turn his hand around in the clamp and flipped them the bird, "You can kiss my ass!"

The Elite snickered and turned to Hitili and the other Brute, telling them to leave so they could begin. It then tapped the holopanel again and one of the arms on the machine stuck a needle with a purple liquid into his arm and injected it. Henry screamed in pain as the liquid burned through his veins. He felt as it burned through his arm and then spread out through the rest of his body. The pain flared as it reached his face and the marine let out a howl of intense pain and anguish. He mustered all of his strength to glare at the sneering Elites and Grunts.

"You…bastards!" he spat out weakly.

The Elite tapped the panel again and another needle jabbed his right arm, injecting a green liquid. Henry screamed again as it felt like his blood was on fire. His vision began to fade as sweat appeared on his brow. He felt another needle poke him in his spin and Henry let out a loud shriek that made all of the Covenant lab-techs cover their ears. Henry's head fell to his chest and everything went black.

The Elite turned to face the others and nodded as he picked up a saw like tool.

"The chemicals have now taken effect and are beginning to change him, we can begin with the transformation," he said as he walked toward the limp form of Henry.

Henry awoke slightly as he felt himself being carried on a stretcher, he let out a small moan when the pain flared through his body again. One of the Brutes that was pushing looked down at him and snickered.

They continued on until a door opened and stopped infront of a cell, they were back in the brig. The Brutes looked at the marines old cell and spat on the ground in disgust.

"I think we should place our new follower into the cell with the Heretic's children," growled one of the Brutes.

The second one sneered as he walked over to the bars of the next one and looked in. Two young Elites huddled together near the back wall in fright. The smallest one was female and the bigger one was male, both brother and sister, neither older than eight years.

"Looks like you are going to have some company, you little maggots! Hope you like the look of a changed marine!" laughed the Brute evilly.

Both young Elites whimpered in fear, they had watched and listened as the marine that was in the cell beside them was dragged away. Their bars opened and both Brutes threw a body into the cell, then the shut the bars and strode away laughing to themselves.

Zanpami and his little sister, Zumai both looked at the body with fear filled eyes. It was the body of an Elite, though it still had the features of a human, but those were slowly changing as they looked on. The beast groaned and flinched as the pain increased on some parts of its body.

Zumai's eyes filled with tears as she watched the former human suffer in pain.

"Zan, what did they do to him?" she asked with a shaky voice.

Zanpami pulled his sister to his chest and let her cry into his dark blue robe. He rubbed her back as he looked at the twitching man before him.

"I don't know Zumai, I don't know," he said in a voice that held fear and anger at the same time. 'How could anyone do this to another, even if they are at war with each other!' Zanpami said to himself.

He then looked down at his six-year-old sister and closed his eyes as he felt his own tears start to flow. Suddenly a loud scream of pain came from the former human. Both Elite children looked on in horror as they watched the man's face become that of an Elites, his jaw, which was already cut in half, turned into mandibles and his head became longer, if not a little flatter. His skin, already a dark brown color from the first transformation, darkening to a grey/black. They watched as his uniform was shredded by his growing body and then the transformation stopped.

Both Elites stared at the now full Elite that lay in front of them, breathing rapidly because of the pain. Before Zanpami could stop his sister, Zumai ran to the Elite's side and held his now bigger hand in her own. The Elite began to breath normal as the pain began to recede and he closed his hand around Zumai's when he realized someone was there who wanted to help.

Zanpami went to his sister's side and kneeled beside her. His eyes were filled with sadness as he placed his hand on Zumai's shoulder. They both jumped when the Elite suddenly gasped and his eyes flew open, he began to look around in fear through blurry eyes.

"A-are you alright?" asked a small voice to his left.

Henry turned his head slowly, grunting at the pain in his newly transformed bones, to face to small Elites kneeling beside him, the youngest of which was holding his hand.

"W-where am I? Who are you?" whispered Henry.

The oldest one bowed his head and smiled slightly.

"You are back in the brig. My name is Zanpami, but you can call me Zan and this is my younger sister Zumai, What is your name?" asked the young male.

Henry groaned as he tried to sit up and with Zanpami's help leaned against one of the cell's walls.

"My name is Henry, Sergeant Henry Thompson…" he paused to take a breath and he reached to touch his sore jaw and realized they were mandibles, "Let me guess they turned me into an Elite, right?"

They both nodded. Henry looked down at his body and sighed, not really surprised that they would make him into an Elite. He then looked back at the two children.

"Why are you two here?" he asked them.

Both lowered their heads and Zumai began to cry again. Henry felt a pang in his heart and he sat up, pulling her into a hug, which she returned. Zanpami looked up in shock when he saw his sister hugging Henry, but then he looked at the now Elite's look of concern on his face.

"Our father…was claimed to be a heretic, they killed him and our mother and threw us in here because we were their children. They said they would eventually kill-" and Zanpami placed his own head in his hands and cried as well.

Henry felt his own eyes tear up and he pulled the boy to him as well, comforting both with his kind embrace.

"I won't let them do that to you, either of you. As long as I am with you I will take care of you and protect you as well as I can!" stated Henry with a growl.

Both young Elites looked up at him with amazement in their faces and then Zumai hugged him again, this time crying tears of happiness.

"Thank you, Henry, thank you!" she whispered.

Zanpami had tears rolling down his cheeks as he embraced the him around the neck, crying on his shoulder. Henry smiled as he hugged them back and something in his heart told him that this was meant to happen. He had lost his family on Reach and now here he was, as an Elite, holding onto two Elite children.

"I will take care of you and I will never leave you," said Henry as his tears fell down his cheek.

Zumai sat up and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, she giggled and looked at her brother.

"We have a family again Zan!" she said with joy in her voice.

Zanpami let go of Henry's neck and sat up wiping his eyes.

"Thank you, Henry!"

Henry smiled as he placed his hands on both of their shoulders.

"Let's worry about being a family after we find a way out of here, ok?" both children nodded and Henry leaned back against the wall, both children laying their heads on his chest.

"Lets get some sleep, we will figure out what to do tomorrow," he said and they instantly were deeply asleep.

From the open doorway that lead into the brig, the Elite Hitili looked on at the three as they slept. His mandibles curled up in a smile as he shut the door and walked down the hallway, thinking about all he had just heard.


	2. Chapter 2

The HumanElite: Chapter 2

Escape

2 days later…

A Grunt whistled to its self through its breather as it pushed a hovercart with three treys of food. It stopped in front of the door of the brig and let the Brute guards search the cart for any weapons before he could bring it into the room. He then entered and pushed the floating cart over to one of the cells.

"Morning Henry, how are you three doing? I've got your food!" said the Grunt.

Henry's mandibles smiled as he shook Zan and Zumai awake.

"Thank you, Pipip, we are doing well!" said the Elite as the Grunt opened the bars.

Pipip then handed them the treys and closed the bars. He sat on the ground and stared at the Elites that he had come to call friends the past two days. Pipip was just like any other grunt except for the fact that he didn't believe in the war he fought in. Henry looked up at the Grunt after he had finished eating.

"Pipip, what is going on in the war so far?" he asked.

Pipip shrugged his stubby shoulders.

"Nothing has changed much, your race is still losing the war, but your Demon has killed many of ours," said the Grunt.

"Demon?" asked Zan through a mouth full of food.

Henry nodded.

"The soldier who fights for the Humans is really called a Spartan, but to the Covenant he is the Demon. He has the best armor and skills, that is why he always defeats so many Covenant Elites and their squads," explained Henry.

"Really?" asked Zumai in amazement.

Before Henry or Pipip could answer the door opened and the Elite Hitili stepped in. Pipip jumped to his feet and bowed low to the Ultra.

"Your Excellency!" gasped the Grunt.

The Elite nodded to the Grunt and then walked up to the cell, Zan and Zumai hid behind Henry as he sat and stared at the high-ranking Elite.

"I see your new body is doing well, Henry," said Hitili.

Henry nodded, but he remained silent. Hitili sighed and rubbed the back of his head.

"I know what you think of me after what my kind did to you, but I can assure you that I am sorry for the part that I had played in it and I want to help you," said the Elite.

Henry was taken aback by what the Elite had just said.

"What do you mean you want to help me? Help me do what?" asked Henry.

Hitili looked around the brig and then looked Henry in the eye.

"I want to help you escape," Hitili whispered.

Henry gaped at Hitili, as did Zan and Zumai, Pipip just stared at the Elite with wide eyes.

"How did you…" began Henry but Hitili held up a hand.

"I never agreed with the prophet's decision to build the machine, nor did I agree with having them transform you. I want to help you to escape because...I saw the way you and Zornos' children looked at each other," said the Elite.

Henry looked confused.

"Zornos?"

"He was mine and Zumai's father, the one they said was a heretic," said Zan as he looked down at his feet.

Hitili nodded.

"Zornos was my younger brother, he had been wrongly accused and because of that he and his wife were killed and his children were thrown in a cell. Seeing how they like you and from what I heard you say, I know you will make a good father for them, that is why I am going to help you escape," explained Hitili.

Henry was speechless, this Elite was risking his rank, his honor, his life, to help him and his brother's children to escape. Zumai was leaning on Zan's shoulder, crying at the memory of her father. Pipip still stood staring in shock, Henry began to wonder if the Grunt really had gone into shock.

"I accept your help…Excellency!" said Henry finally, with a smirk.

The Elite smiled and shook his head.

"When we leave here I will not be an Ultra anymore, so just call me Hitili," the Elite then turned to the silent Pipip," Are you planning on joining us, Unggoy?"

Pipip shook his head clear and then, when realizing what it looked like he was doing, quickly nodded.

"Yes, I am tired of my brethren being the ones who always die in battle, I will not fight a war, on the side I do not believe in!" exclaimed the Grunt.

Hitili nodded his head.

"Very well," he then turned to Henry, "We will be back later with a few things for you and the young ones, we will be escaping today," said the Elite.

Henry shook his head in confusion.

"But, don't we have to make plans on how we are going to escape?" he asked.

Hitili was now the one to smirk.

"I already have a way to get you three out, so don't worry. I will be back, trust me," and with that the Elite left the brig.

Pipip turned to Henry.

"Are you sure we can trust him?" the Grunt asked.

Henry shrugged and pulled the now sleeping young Elites to his side, they had fallen asleep during the middle of the conversation.

"I don't think we have much choice, Pipip. Are you sure you want to help?"

Pipip nodded his head vigorously, his breather rattling.

"I am sure, I meant all of those things I said!"

Henry then nodded and yawned.

"Well, you should leave Pipip, before the Brute guards become suspicious of how long you stay in here," Henry said sleepily.

The Grunt nodded and took the empty treys and set them on the hovercart and he then left. Henry sighed and prayed that the plan Hitili had made would work. He then closed his eyes and went to sleep.

5 hours later, Henry woke up to the sound of plasma fire from outside of the brig door. Something was wrong; Henry shook Zan and Zumai awake and listened to what was going on. Screams of pain and angry yells could be heard on the other side of the purple metal; wails of terrified Grunts, growls and roars of Elites and Brutes alike echoed through the brig.

Suddenly the door flew open and Hitili, along with Pipip, came running in. The Elite threw down what looked like pieces of armor onto the ground.

"I'll cover the door, you let them out!" shouted Hitili as he drew his plasma rifle.

Pipip ran toward the holopanel that opened the cells and slapped his hand on the screen. Once the bars were up Henry and the young Elites walked out. Hitili panted as he smiled and nodded to the black armor.

"This was how we were going to get out, disguising you as an Elite commando, I also have two camouflage units for the two children. That was the original plan, but apparently the Flood have landed on High Charity and they are taking it over. The Elites have also broke away from the Covenant, so we don't have to worry about them, that adds to our advantage. Now quickly put the armor on and grab any spare weapons you can find here!" ordered Hitili. (Think of the Elite commando armor on Halo 3)

Henry put the armor on and liked the feel, now that he was an Elite. He activated the shields and went over to the weapon rack. He grabbed a plasma rifle and a plasma sword, as well as a few plasma grenades. He then noticed his pack was sitting beside the rack so he grabbed that as well. He then looked at Hitili and nodded.

"I am ready," he said.

The Elite nodded and then handed the active camo units to Zan and Zumai.

"Turn them on as soon as we get out of the brig, stay between me and Henry. Henry, you will be rear guard, and you, Unggoy, stay beside the young ones, if we get separated for any reason, do not leave them!"

The Grunt bowed his head.

"I will obey, Excellency!" Pipip said as he held up two needlers in his hands.

Hitili nodded.

"Alright, we are going to make our way to the docking bay, there is a ship waiting for us there. I can only hope that they wait long enough for us before they decide to leave.

"If we run into any Brutes or Flood on the way there, I want you to take care of the Brutes squad of Unggoy, let me handle the Brutes, but try to avoid the Flood, now lets move!" and with that Hitili opened the door and stepped out, swinging his plasma rifle around the corridor. At his feet lay the two Brute guards and some Grunts, as well as two Elites.

"It looks like my brothers have already been through here, come this way!" and they left the brig.

Zan and Zumai turned the active camo on as they took their places between the two full-grown Elites and Pipip took his place to their right. They ran down the corridor, passing even more bodies of Brutes and Elites, as they started to turn a corner a Brute roared from in front of them. There stood five Grunts, three Jackals at the Brutes side. A plasma bolt hit the edge of the corner, melting a hole into the metal.

"Take cover!" growled Hitili as he jumped behind a Covenant weapons crate.

Henry took his spot behind the wall keeping the two young Elites beside him. Pipip new he would be disobeying an order if he went to join Hitili, so he stayed with the young ones, looking back the way they came.

Henry leaned out away from the wall and fired his plasma rifle; two Grunts fell with cries of pain, their arms flailing as they fell to the deck, he ducked back when a ball of green plasma melted the wall where his head had been. Hitili stepped out from behind his crate, unleashed a few shots of plasma, then armed a plasma grenade and threw it over the crates that the Jackals hid behind.

It landed on one of the Jackals, sticking to its chest, it cried out and exploded, taking another Jackal and two more Grunts with it. The Brute fired its spike rifle at Hitili, who quickly got back behind his crate. Henry leaned out again and fired a few shots at the Brute. Henry ducked as red-hot spikes flew past his position and struck the wall on the opposite side of the hallway.

When there was a lull he fired at the last Grunt taking it down. Hitili stood up and brought the last Jackal down with another grenade. The Brute howled in rage as he charged the Ultra Elite's position. Hitili stood up and fired rapidly at the Brute, it gave a strangled cry and fell to the ground with three feet to spare.

Suddenly the sound of dual needlers firing behind him made Henry turn. Pipip was blasting the pink shards at two hulking mutated Brutes that were surrounded by small green squid like creatures, Henry gasped.

"Flood!" he shouted and he began blasting infection forms with his rifle.

Hitili came to the corner and opened up on one of the Flood Brutes, the thing roared and charged them. Henry blasted it in the chest as Hitili blasted its head; soon it fell with a strangled roar.

"Come we must go, now!" growled Hitili, "Turn off the active camo!"

Zan and Zumai appeared and they were looking at the approaching Flood in fear. Hitili picked Zanpami up and Henry picked up Zumai. Pipip looked up at the two Elites, his eyes filled with fear as well.

"Come!" shouted Hitili as he ran aiming his rifle at a combat form that used to be an Elite and blasted it to pieces.

Henry pushed the Grunt to go after Hitili and then shot a few blasts of plasma and ran after them. They ran around another corner and stopped while Hitili opened the door, as soon as it opened the two Elites swept the room with their rifles, nothing but dead Grunts, Jackals and two Hunters.

'Now that is amazing!' said Henry in his mind.

They then went to the next door and entered a hall clear of the dead and Flood. Hitili took the lead again, Zan and Zumai stood between him and Henry and Pipip was now on their left, still beside the two children. They turned another corner and ran into a small group of Elites, who raised their weapons on impulse but put them down when they realized the group wasn't a threat.

One of the Elites walked up to Hitili.

"Your Excellency! We have been waiting for you like you ordered! You got here just in time, we were about to leave without you," said the black armored Elite with humor in its voice.

Hitili smiled, nodded and turned to a confused Henry.

"These Elites are my squad, Henry. They are loyal to me and they are also tired of this war. They are all risking their lives by waiting here for us," said Hitili.

The Elite raised its rifle and saluted Henry.

"We would rather fight on the side that is we know is right. The prophecies the prophets have foreseen are false, Humanity is not the trash we were made to believe! We will fight for the Human race, in a sign of friendship and help end this bloody war!" shouted the Elite and the others roared in approval.

Henry smiled as he felt his eyes water and he turned to Hitili.

"I thank you, Hitili. I may not be human anymore, but I speak for all of them, when I say, we welcome your help and friendship," he then shook Hitili's hand as both Elites smiled.

Hitili then motioned for the Elites to go into the hanger and his group followed. Inside was a small Covenant Cruiser and standing in long lines were hundreds Grunts and Jackals, and behind them stood eight hunter pairs. All armed to the teeth and all of them ready to fight for what they believed. Hitili turned and smiled at Henry again.

"Does this please you to know that you now have allies, my friend?" the Elite asked.

Henry nodded and placed his fist on his chest and bowed, Hitili chuckled.

"I see you have learned our ways, Henry," the Elite said smiling, returning the salute.

Henry smiled back.

"I have been around you and the Covenant long enough now to know their ways, Hitili," he said.

Hitili nodded and clasped his hands behind his back.

"Then, since you are now an Elite, you deserve a new name. One that should be fitting of your rank, sergeant" said the Elite.

Henry thought for a moment and smiled.

"Thronir, I choose, Thronir!" he said.

Hitili nodded his head and bowed.

"Thronir, it is then! Now I believe you should go board the ship with your new son and daughter," Hitili nodded toward Zan and Zumai as they waited to board the Cruiser with the ever-loyal Pipip standing beside them.

Henry smiled, saluted Hitili and walked over to them, while the other former Covenant set about to get the ship ready for departure.

Both Elite children looked up and smiled when Henry kneeled before them and removed his Elite commando helmet. He then placed a hand on each of their shoulders.

"Are you two ready to board with your new father?" he asked them.

Zan and Zumai cried out in joy and happiness and they hugged the Elite. Zumai had tears running down her cheeks as she whispered.

"Thank you, Thronir, I love you!" she said.

Henry looked at her in surprise and then looked at Pipip who was chuckling.

"It was really easy to hear your conversation with Hitili, Henry or should I now say, Thronir. It took all of my strength to keep them from running over to you when they heard Hitili claim you as their father," smiled the Grunt behind his breather.

Henry then turned to Zanpami who was looking at him with his mandibles in a big smile.

"Thank you Thronir!" was all the boy said.

Thronir smiled again as he stood up and picked up Zumai.

"Come lets get onboard and find ourselves a cabin!" he said and he made his way to the ship with his new daughter in his arms, his new son walking by his side, and his friend on the other.


	3. Chapter 3

The Human/Elite: Chapter 3

Chamberlain and a Promotion

The Covenant cruiser left the High Charity after thirty minutes. An Elite showed Thronir, Zanpami and Zumai to their room, which consisted of three beds and a desk. Pipip stopped by to drop off the Elite's gear and weapons. Before the Grunt left though, Thronir asked him if he could find a portable holoprojector. Zan looked at him with a question.

"What do you need a holoprojector for?" The young Elite asked.

Thronir smiled as he opened his pack and pulled out a metal box. The Elite placed it on the desk and opened it. Inside was a datapad, some wires and a small data chip.

"I need it to help complete a friend of mine; an AI," said Thronir as he placed the datapad and the wiring on the desk.

"You mean, you are making your own personal AI?" asked Zumai as she tried to peek over the edge of the desk.

"Of course, when I was a human, I used to be a computer-tech before becoming a marine, so I had access to all of the technology that we used to make our AI's. What I was and am still doing is considered illegal, but I did it anyway," Thronir said while making a funny face at his new children.

Zumai, giggled and Zan laughed as they both sat down on the bed. Zumai looked at the data chip with curiosity, while the Elite began connecting wires and entering data into the datapad.

"What is this data chip for?" she asked.

Thronir smiled as he picked it up and held it for both of them to see.

"This young ones, is Chamberlain, my personal AI!"

"You mean he is in that small chip?" asked Zan and Thronir chuckled at his son's comment.

"Yep, pretty small ain't he?" he asked them, causing them to laugh again.

A knock on the door got Thronir's attention.

"Come in!" he said and Pipip entered holding a portable holoprojector.

"Here you go Thronir, may I ask what you need it for?" asked the Grunt as he sat it on the desk with a heavy 'Thud'.

The Elite smiled as he plugged the datapad into the holoprojector, and started to upload its data.

"You will see soon, Pipip, very soon," Thronir said as he pushed the data chip into the datapad, then with a few more taps here and there, the projector started to hum.

Suddenly there was a flash of blue light from the projector and the blured form of a man flickered into view. Lines of data crawled all over the foot high avatar, as it flickered into focus and out.

"Ah, Henry…(zwich)...its been…(hiss)...a long…(zwich)...time!" warbled a voice from the flickering figure as its face started to come into focus.

"Its good to hear from you Chamberlain, now hold on I am almost done with you," said Thronir as he made a few more adjustments to the datapad.

"Henry…(zwich)...your voice sounds…(hiss)...different, why is that?" asked the AI as the figure ceased flickering and came into focus.

"Long story, I will give you the short one. I was turned into an Elite," Thronir stated in a serious tone as the AI threw a calculating look at him.

"Hmm, never knew the Covenant had that type of technology," said the blue man who had a thick mustache, neat hair and dressed in an old fashioned soldier's uniform.

Zan and Zumai sat on the bed and stared in awe at the glowing being as he stared at their new father with an interesting expression on his face. Chamberlain's eyebrows came together as his eyes narrowed, his mustache tilted up as he brought a corner of his mouth up; he was thinking.

"Hmm, I can now see what you mean, scanning!" information and data crawled all over his body at a rapid pace, "Ah, so it is you Henry! You are a true Elite in appearance, but my bio scanner shows that your organs are still those of Human, just mutated to some extent. Not to mention that you still bleed red blood, not purple, which is odd I might add," Chamberlain finally concluded.

"Yes, thank you Chamberlain," growled Thronir as he threw the AI a glare, while the other three in the room snickered, "Chamberlain, there are some people I would like you to meet!"

Thronir turned and beckoned both Zan and Zumai to come stand by his side. The two small Elites scrambled off the bed and went to him. When Chamberlain looked down his eyes widened in shock.

"Chamberlain, these are my new son and daughter, Zanpami and Zumai!" said Thronir with pride in his voice.

"Well, I'll be! Elite children! I have never seen any Elites so young," said the AI, who was truly astonished as he stared at the two smaller beings in front of the desk.

"That's because you have never seen any Covenant before, Chamberlain!" chuckled Thronir, "I didn't add the final touches to you till just now."

"Hmm, I suppose you are correct," Chamberlain said as he frowned at the Elite, suddenly he paused, "...an Elite is approaching the door, an Ultra, I believe!"

Thronir looked at the door and called out.

"You can come in Hitili!"

The Ultra Elite entered with a surprised look on his face.

"How did…" he paused when he saw the AI on the holoprojector, "Ah! I take it this AI is yours Thronir?"

The Elite nodded.

"Yes Hitili, this is my personal AI, Chamberlain, he is based off of a colonel from Earth in the year 1861. He had fought in the American Civil War," Thronir explained.

Htili nodded his head as a look of understanding appeared on his face.

"I see. I remember reading about that in one of your antique human books, I had found it in the ruins of a human home on one of your planets," He looked at Thronir apologetically, but the Elite waved it off.

Hitili then turned back to the human AI.

"It is an honor to meet you, Colonel Chamberlain!" he said as he bowed.

Chamberlain smiled and returned the bow.

"Pleasure is all mine, Excellency! And please, don't call me by my predecessors full name, I am only a copy of him."

Hitili smiled and then turned to Thronir.

"We are getting ready to go into Slipspace, if we are going to find Earth we need its coordinates," the Elite said.

Thronir nodded and turned to the AI.

"Chamberlain, I know you know the exact coordinates to Earth, will you…" he began.

"I am sorry Henry, but that goes against all protocol!" said Chamberlain as he shook his head.

Thronir glared at the AI and let out a menacing growl.

"Screw protocol! If we don't get to Earth, we won't be there in time to help fight off the Covenant! These Elites and there men are on our side now, we need Earth's location, Now!"

Chamberlain swallowed as his eyes widened slightly. He tugged on his collar as he turned to Hitili.

"Plug me into the ship, Excellency, and I will give you the coordinates," said the AI and his avatar vanished from the projector.

Thronir pulled Chamberlain's data chip out of the datapad and handed it to Hitili, who nodded his thanks and started to leave the room. As the door slid open, the Ultra Elite turned to face Thronir once again.

"I didn't come to see you just so I could get us the coordinates, I also came to inform you Thronir, that you have been promoted to Veteran Spec. Ops. Elite. It is similar to your human rank of Sergeant Major, I believe. I came to ask if you do me the honor of being my second in command," said Hitili with a smirk.

Thronir's mandible's dropped, he couldn't speak, all he could do was nod his head dumbly and try to keep a goofy grin from appearing. While he couldn't say anything, the others in the room let out cheers and smiles. What broke the Elite from his stupor was feeling a small hand placed in his big one. Thronir looked down to see Zumai staring back up at him with tears trailing down her cheeks.

Thronir couldn't fight it any longer and he smiled the biggest he could, causing her to giggle as she hugged him. Thronir then turned to look at Hitili, who had an amused look on his face, he was waiting for a vocal response.

"Y-yes Excellency! T-thank you your Excellency!" he stuttered as he threw his superior a sloppy salute.

Hitili's smile deepened as he returned it.

"Good, I shall now remove my presence from your cabin, I bid you good day!" and with that the Ultra left and the door hissed closed behind him.

Pipip looked up at Thronir and chuckled when he still saw the shocked look on his friend's face.

"Congratulations my friend, you earned this! Though I would try and change my facial expression if I were you, wouldn't want it to get stuck like that!" the Grunt laughed.

Thronir shook his head and then sent a small glare at Pipip, but the smile still on his face showed it wasn't real.

"You know, I could easily make you eat those words you little cretin! Now leave before I do!" Pipip quickly scurried out of the room laughing a storm, while Thronir let out a chuckle.

Zan and Zumai both yawned and Thronir smiled as he turned to face them.

"Go to bed you two and get some sleep, we will be at Earth sooner than you know it," he said.

Zan nodded and mumbled his goodnight then collapsed on his bed in exhaustion. Zumai went up to her father and hugged him, Thronir wrapped his arms around her little body and gave her an Elites equivalent to a kiss on her head.

"Goodnight, father," she said sleepily.

Thronir smiled and hugged her a bit more.

"Goodnight, Zumai, sleep well," and then the little Elite went to her bed.

Thronir tucked her under a thick blanket and gave her another kiss, he then went to his son's bed. Zanpami was already snoring softly when he reached the bed. Thronir chuckled softly, kissed his son's head and began removing his armor, till all he was left wearing was his under armor.

Thronir laid down on his bed and pulled up his blankets, designed specially to ward off the chills of space.

"What a day," he mumbled silently to himself as he turned onto his side and shortly succumbed to slumber.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Just thought I would give the Elites in this chapter last names. Oh, and for those who have read this from the beginning, This whole story has been updated!

The Human/Elite: Chapter 4

Old Friends

Just as the last Covenant Cruiser was just getting ready to go into slip space, a small ship rocketed from one of the many hangers of High Charity. The Human Pelican dropship was giving everything it had to get the people inside to their last chance of returning home.

The man piloting the ship pushed the throttle as high as it could go, giving more power to the engines, sweat dripped down his brow as he concentrated on getting his people to safety, when...

"L.T.! The portal's opening!" said the marine sitting in the co-pilot's chair beside him.

"I know," was all the man said, in a tight voice.

"They are starting their engines up!" the marine was getting more frantic.

"I know," said the Lieutenant through gritted teeth as the cruiser was slowly filling the cockpit's windshield.

They watched as the cruiser continued to grow larger and larger as they got closer and closer. The Lieutenant's skillful eyes spotted a hanger on the side that had yet to be closed. With a jerk of his hands the Pelican banked hard toward the opening. Suddenly, just as the hanger filled their view, a plasma shield began to spread across the opening.

"We're not going to make it!" cried the marine as he threw his arm's over his head and braced for impact.

The Lieutenant didn't respond as he pushed the engines to their max and closed the distance quickly, just barely skirting passed the shield with inches and seconds to spare. He quickly yanked hard on the controls, throwing the ship's engines into reverse. With a loud groan the Pelican jerked to a halt just inches from the nose of a Phantom dropship and the Grunt standing on top of said ship.

The startled Grunt let out a yelp and flailed it's arms as it fell onto it's back, with a loud squeal. It then looked up at the ship's cockpit and stared at the two shocked human's that sat staring back from inside.

For a few silent moments neither man nor alien could say anything, until a loud shuddering groan shook the Pelican, followed by the sound of a fading whine as the engine's shut down. For a split second the Lieutenant and marine stared at each other, both thinking the same thing.

"Aw, Sh-!" the marine started to say as the Pelican fell to the deck of the hanger with a loud-CLANG!

The Grunt jumped to its feet and scurried away from the ship, shouting at the top of it's lungs, "Human's! Human's!"

The Lieutenant quickly unbuckled himself from the pilots seat and ran into the back of the ship, the rest of his squad looking up as he came in.

"We have arrived," he said calmly as he grabbed his shotgun from the rack, "Lock and load ladies!"

Thronir's eyes opened and he sat up as a rumble shook the whole ship. A flash of light from the holoprojector announced Chamberlain's presence.

"Ah, good, you are awake Henry," said the AI.

"Chamberlain, what was that? What happened?" asked the Elite as he scrambled from his bed.

"It appears that a Human Pelican dropship made a spectacular entrance and crash landing in one of the port side hanger's just before the plasma shields had sealed shut," informed Chamberlain as he stood with his hands behind his back at attention.

Thronir paused in his rush to check on his children and turned to face the AI, a look of mix shock and confusion was on his face.

"What! where did it come from?" the Elite demanded as he glanced at Zan and Zumai, sighing when he saw that both were still asleep.

He began to pull on his armor as Chamberlain continued.

"From the trajectory of the ship, the amount of fuel that had been burned up, and the amount of damage to its hull and engines; it appears to have come from High Charity. The beings onboard are human, marines, as claimed by one of the Tech Grunts, no sign of the parasite at the moment. As of right now, the marines have taken a defensive position and have yet to make a move.

"Ultra Hitili has already taken the VICTORIOUS LIGHT into slip space and has ordered his troops to stand down. He has also requested your presence in the hanger to parley with the human's and to leave your weapon's behind."

Thronir placed his helmet on his head and activated his shields. He then nodded to the AI.

"Thank you, Chamberlain, inform Hitili that I will try to prevent a violent confrontation as best as I can," the AI nodded his head, threw the Elite a salute and then vanished from the projector.

Thronir looked over at his sleeping children and smiled. He walked over to Zan, leaned over and kissed his head, he then went over to Zumai and did the same.

"Sleep well you two," he whispered and then left the room.

Thronir made his way to the lift and rode it down to the hanger floor. He walked through the doorway as it slid opened and he paused at the sight before him. In the middle of the hanger, resting on its belly, smoke still coming from its engines, sat the Pelican; the Phantom had been moved to the side of the hanger. Under one of the wings crouched five marines with their guns aimed in all directions.

On top of the wing was a lone sniper, who, at the moment that Thronir had entered the hanger, kept his rifle fixed on him. Surrounding the ship was the multitude of Grunt workers, Covenant engineers and one of the Hunter teams. A few Elites and their squads were there as well. Thronir could feel the tension in the air from where he was standing. He took a deep breath and stepped into the hanger.

An Elite turned to Thronir as he approached and gave him a salute. Apparently news of his promotion had already spread among the troops, he mused to himself.

"Sir, the Human's refuse to allow any of us approach them, nor do they accept - or believe - any of our offers of aid, it is clear they do not trust us," said the Elite as it glanced over at the marines with pity and sorrow in its eyes, from the sound of its voice the Elite appeared to be a female.

Thronir nodded as he looked at the small squad near the ship, the soldiers were now glancing in his direction, some leaning over to whisper to another, while one or two trained their guns on him as the sniper on the wing was still doing. Thronir let out a sigh and turned back to the Elite at his side.

"Neither would you if their kind had done the exact same things that you had been doing to them for years," Thronir said in a calm tone.

The Elite bowed her head in shame.

"We are truly sorry for what we have done to the human race. If we had known that the Prophet's teachings had been all but lies, we would have broken away sooner," she said in a low voice as her shoulders slumped in guilt.

Thronir, gave her a small smile as he placed a hand on her armored shoulder. The female looked up at his face, eyes filled with regret and sadness.

"I am here to try and diffuse this situation," he said, he then had a thought, "What's your name?"

The Elite quickly saluted and bowed.

"My name is Lalania, commander Thronir," she said, "I am to be your second in command in your squad."

Thronir quickly filed that information away for later. He returned Lalania's salute and nodded to her.

"Soldier Lalania, inform the rest of those here that I will handle this situation. Under no circumstances are any of them to engage the humans if negotiations go sour. Is that understood, soldier?" he ended with a lowered voice.

Lalania saluted him again and began spreading his orders to the rest of the troops in the hanger. Then one by one the former Covenant troops began lowering their weapons. With that part of the situation handled, Thronir turned his attention back toward the marines, who were now looking at him and the others in confusion and suspicion.

Thronir took another deep breath, then let it out as he took the first steps that would change history as he knew it.

Lieutenant Joseph Enders lowered his shotgun as he stared curiously at the Elite that had apparently gave the order to the rest of the Covenant soldiers to stand down. He wore the same black armor as the rest of the Elites, but the others seemed to treat him as a higher rank. He ignored the whispers and actions made by his squad as he focussed on the Elite.

He was shaken from his thought process and he stiffened when he noticed the Elite beginning to make its way through the crowd towards the Pelican.

"Sir, I have this Elite in my sights, want me to dispose of him?" asked Nick from on top of the wing.

Enders placed his hand against the com that was in his ear, his eyes fixed on the single Elite that was making its way toward their position at a slow pace and apparently unarmed.

"Negative, private! I think he just wants to talk, get some answers, as do we all. I'm going to go have a chat with him. James, Josh, I want you two to cover me. Amanda, Andy, I want you two to keep doing what your doing, but keep your weapons down, is that understood?" said the Lieutenant as he glanced back at his squad.

"Yes sir!" said all four voices through his headset and with that, he made his way forward.

Enders stopped about halfway between the Pelican and the Covenant troops, holding the shotgun in a ready position, incase of trouble. The Elite stopped just short of him and seemed to be smiling at him, a look of recognition spread across the parts of his face that were visible from under the helmet.

"Well, well, Lieutenant Enders of Serpent squad, its been a while sir," said the Elite in a deep voice that was filled with amusement.

Enders' eyes widened and his breath caught in his throat as he aimed the shotgun at the Elites head.

"Talk! How do you know my name, rank and squad, Covenant? I want answers and I want them now!" what happened next would continue to shock the Lieutanant for the rest of his life.

The Elite stood up straight and stared straight ahead as he answered.

"Sergeant Henry Thompson of Serpent's squad reporting, currently as an Elite, sir," said the Elite in a voice that only Enders could hear.

Enders almost dropped his shotgun in shock.

There was no way...

It couldn't be...could it?

Enders stared at the Elite, his mind refused to believe that this Elite, this monster that killed hundreds, no thousands of Humans, was his sergeant and friend Henry. But for some reason, his heart was telling him he was.

"H-Henry, That can't... not possible! What the hell did they do to you?" Enders only cursed if he was angry as sin or scared out of his wits, which was very rare.

'Henry' held up a hand and motioned for the Lieutenant to come closer.

"I will explain everything in time, L.T., but not here. I will at least tell you this, I am telling the truth and my new name is Thronir."

"Thronir, got it," Enders nodded his head, then Thronir continued.

"I need you to tell the others to lower their weapons and to follow me, I promise you these Elites and their squads will not harm you. They have defected from the Covenant, they are what they call Heretics," he said in a low voice.

Enders smiled and again nodded his head. He then activated his com.

"Nick get yourself down from that wing! The rest of you lower your weapons and get your sorry selves over here on the double! We are getting our answers," he ordered.

Nick slid off the wing and landed on the floor in a crouch, the rest of the marines stood up and walked slowly over to their L.T. and the Elite. The Elite mumbled something to Enders and the man nodded in return.

"Are we surrendering sir?" asked Josh in a bitter voice as he glared at the Elite.

Enders chuckled and shook his head.

"Negative private, we are not surrendering, like I said they wanted to chat. Now, he wants us to come with him to speak with his higher up! So we are going to follow him and we are not going to raise our weapons against any of them, unless if need be, have I made myself clear? Hoorah?"

Five mumbled 'hoorah's' was all he got. Enders cleared his throat.

"I said, Hoorah!"

"Hoorah!" said all five marines.

The Lieutenant grinned and turned back to the Elite.

"You may take us to your leader now!" Enders said with a smirk.

The Elite chuckled at the jab of being an alien and nodded. He then motioned for them to follow him.

"Please come with me, my commander is waiting for us on the bridge," stated the Elite as he lead them past the other ex-Covenant.

As he neared the door, he noticed Pipip standing there and motioned for the grunt to join them at his side. The Grunt nodded and joined him. Before they went in Thronir motioned them to wait and he walked over to the Elite Lalania.

"Soldier Lalania, get a tech crew to move the human's ship off to the side and out of the way. You then can continue on with your duties of prepping the drop ships for our arrival. And get some engineers to work on fixing up the human ship as well, we might have need of it when the time comes," he informed her.

Lalania saluted him and bowed, before turning back to the workers to relay his orders. Thronir then made his way back to the marines and motioned, again, for Enders and the others to continue to follow him. The door slid open and allowed them entrance into the hall, sliding shut behind them once the last person crossed the threshold.

Thronir then made his way over to one of the projection pedestals in the corridor and entered a code, then stepped back. The machine made a low humming noise as the top began to glow. Thronir glanced to the side to see the marines looking at him in confusion, causing him to smirk as he stepped up to the machine again.

"Chamberlain, can you hear me?" he asked, and with flicker, the AI appeared on the pedestal.

The marines stared in shock at the sight of a human AI that was taking orders from a Covenant. They were jolted from their shock when the AI spoke.

"Yes, I can hear you just fine Henry," Chamberlain paused and glanced at the marines who were either staring at him with startled looks or at his creator's back in shock, "I see you have handled the situation. Shall I inform Ultra Hitili that you are on your way then?"

Thronir nodded and the AI vanished. He turned around to see all of the marines staring at him with either hardened looks of suspicion, question and in the case of the only female soldier present: anger. The only two who didn't react at all was Enders, who he had first informed about building chamberlain a long time ago, and Pipip, who was just standing there looking between the humans and his friend.

"What the heck was that?" asked a marine who wore a bandana outlaw style and a pair of shades over his eyes.

Thronir smiled and fixed his gaze on the marine, he knew James would be the one to ask questions first. he always did jump in feet first.

"I believe you all should know of Chamberlain, since I have been working on him for several months now," said the Elite.

"Liar!" shouted the female marine, Amanda, as she reached for the golden cross that hung from her neck, her eyes smoldering in anger and hatred as she stared at the Elite in front of her.

"You did not design Chamberlain, my husband Henry designed him! You lying so-" Enders held up his hand to silence the marine and grabbed her shoulder before she could do anything.

"Easy, Corporal, stand down!"

The Lieutenant then winked at Thronir and turned to face his squad. Most had noticed the way their L.T. was acting and looked even more confused, while Amanda stood there fumming, never taking her eyes from the Elite. Enders cleared his throat, calling all of the attention back to him.

"Alright now, let's all settle down before somebody does something they will regret," He said this while staring hard at Amanda, who just glared back at him, he cleared his throat again, "Ladies, I would like to introduce you to our friendly Elite guide, Thronir! He also just happens to be our missing squad member, Sergeant Henry Thompson!"

All five marines gaped and turned to Thronir in horrified shock.

"How... how?" stuttered Josh.

"What the hell!" shouted Nick and Andy.

"No. Freaking. Way!" muttered James.

Amanda, froze on the spot and turned pale as she lifted her gaze up toward the Elite. She stared at him for a few seconds, her eyes roaming over every inch of him, looking for something to prove that this was really the man she loved, the man she had married, the man who was her husband. A sparkle of light caught her attention and she brought her eyes up to his neck, to see a chain hanging around it, with something that looked like...

She began to step toward Thronir, catching the rest of her squads attention and causing them to fall silent as they watched her make her way toward the Elite.

Thronir glanced down at Amanda, who was still staring at the object hanging from his neck and his heartbeat quickened.

'She's figuring it out,' he thought to himself.

Amanda stood before him and removed the helmet from her head, letting the against regulation long red hair fall down till it reached her shoulders. She then placed a hand on Thronir's wrist and yanked down hard on it, till he understood and bent over. Once his neck was at her eye level, she reached for the chain and lifted it up to her teary eyes and stared at the one thing that would tell that this was her husband. Hanging from the chain was a silver ring, a silver ring that she would of recognized anywhere.

Then Amanda suddenly grabbed hold of Thronir's armored right shoulder and lifted up on it. There, just barely visible in the dim light and on the dark skin: was a UNSC tattoo. With a shuddering breath, Amanda threw her arms around Thronir's neck and sobbed on his chest as he wrapped his big arms around her small body.

The others stared on in a mixture of emotions, not one knowing what to do. That is everyone except for their L.T., who looked on the reunited couple with a big grin on his face.

"Oh, Henry! I-I thought I would never see you again!" sobbed and whispered Amanda as Thronir held her smaller body tighter, whispering calming words to her, until she could speak again.

"What did they do to you?" she asked as she looked up into his face.

Thronir smiled as he wiped away her tears and slowly stood up, leaving a hand on her shoulder.

"I will explain everything on the way to the bridge," Amanda nodded, "Now, Lieutenant Enders, if you will please follow me and my companion," said Thronir as he motioned toward Pipip.

"Alright then, is everyone ready? Good! Lead the way my friend," said Enders.

As they followed Thronir through the winding corridors of the cruiser, he explained to them what had happened since he was separated from the rest of the squad, including the part about his transformation.

Andy, who had been silent all this time spoke up.

"So, your telling me that those floating airheads, designed a machine that with the use of certain chemicals and surgical procedure, that can change any living beings DNA into that of another species entirely?" Andy had graduated from medical school before joining the military, every now and then he would spit out words that some of the squad didn't know or couldn't understand.

Thronir nodded his head as they continued on down the passageway; passing Elites, Jackals and Grunts along the way. Nick looked down at the grunt that was walking silently beside him and cleared his throat.

"So..." he said, gaining the smaller being's attention, "What's it like serving in the Covenant army?" the marine asked generally curious.

Pipip made a curious squeak behind his breather as he scratched his head and looked back at Nick.

"It is, how you humans say it, hell. We Unggoy are sent into battle first and are usually the first to die..." he then went on and on about the hardships his people had to endure during the war, stunning the marines with how intelligent the Grunt sounded.

The conversations died down when they arrived at the bridge. The door slid open and Thronir motioned for Enders and the others to enter first. Hitili turned from the projection pedestal with Chamberlain glowing on the top, another elite at his side wearing the gold armor of Shipmaster, toward the door as they entered and smiled as he walked up to Enders.

"May I be the first to welcome you to the bridge of the VICTORIOUS LIGHT. I am Ultra Hitili Renamee," he then beckoned to the other Elite, "And may I introduce you to Shipmaster Rillon Itillee."

Rillon, instead of saluting and bowing, walked up to Enders and held out his massive right hand and shook Enders' hand.

"It is an honor for me to be shaking hands with a human. I too welcome you aboard my ship," stated Rillon in a very deep voice.

Enders nodded and grinned around the unlit cigarette sticking out of his mouth.

"Thank you Shipmaster Itillee, Ultra Renamee. It is an honor to be one of the first humans ever to stand on the bridge of a Covenant ship, peacefully I might add. Name's Lieutenant Joseph Enders and this is serpent squad."

"You are more than welcome my friend," stated Hitili.

"Lieutenant, it appears that you and your squad reached my ship just in time. A few seconds later and you would have been drifting without power in the depth's of space," commented Rillon.

Hitili clicked his mandibles in admiration and nodded in agreement with the Shipmasters statement. He then turned to Thronir who had been standing quietly to the side during the whole conversation.

"Thronir, the Lieutenant, Rillon and I will remain here. I want you to take the rest of our guests and show them to their quarters, there are plenty of rooms to spare. I will be waiting your report and will answer any questions you have later. You are dismissed to also return to your lodgings," said the Elite as he turned back to Rillon and Enders' discussion.

Thronir nodded to the others and lead them from the bridge and toward the living quarters.


End file.
